


Jackals

by orphan_account



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 00:43:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7411771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirsch has a nightmare about jackals and friendships are born.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jackals

Kirsch woke up in a panic, panting for breath before realising he was tangled up in a sweaty mess of twisted sheets in the dorm room he used to share with Will. It was a dream. A really weird dream but a dream none the less. He'd been hanging around with a couple of guys and then they'd made some reference to being jackals and then he started running as fast as he could with them hot on his heals, screaming for Danny Lawrence. He didn't really know what a jackal was so when he Googled it he was somewhat surprised that they weren't grey or as big as a panther or that he thought somewhere deep in his subconscious that Danny of all people could and would save him from them. After that he just felt slightly guilty that he hadn't been seeking the protection of one of the many Zeta Omega's he'd become friends with over his years at Silas.

The dream lingered with him for the rest of the day: he made sure to check behind him as he walked down hallways just to make certain that he wasn't being chased; it made him jump when he heard the usual howls of the wolves of Silas Woods; it made him lock his door when he went to take a shower (something that he now figures he probably should have been doing all along).

He finds himself sitting in English, thinking about what he would do in the event of the alchemy club accidentally releasing a hoard of mutant guys who can turn into jackals at will, just in case because something about last nights dream really doesn't sit right with him.  Of course his English teacher chooses to pick on him for the answer when he wasn't paying even the slightest bit of attention.  He couldn't even think of anything but the truth to answer with when she asks him "What in your pitiful excuse of an existence could possibly be more important than passing English?" Apparently "Trying to think of ways to survive if we have a zombie apocalypse but like instead of zombies there are people who can turn into jackals whenever they want" was not the right answer because he found himself being kicked out of class to the sound of roaring laughter. The only people in the room who weren't laughing were Mrs Crazbly and Danny who were both glaring at him and a concerned looking Laura.

Kirsch's next encounter with Danny is a few days later when she's giving him the work he missed after he got kicked out of English. She doesn't ask what was up with him because she just assumes it was just Kirsch being an idiot and he doesn't tell her about the dream because he assumes she wouldn't care. 

It's not long before he's seeking out the smartest person he knows when it comes to all things biological: LaF. Alright he admits he doesn't really know them that well but Laura does and he figures if Laura can trust their brilliant mind then he can too. He asks a lot of questions ranging from "Would I be able to outrun a jackal?" to "Is it better to scream for help or try and hide?" and then finally to the thing that had been bugging him the most "Would someone really strong and smart be able to defeat a jackal in a fight?". LaFontaine had to admit that they didn't really have any answers to his questions but that they could try and find out for him.

Laura is the first to notice that LaF is slumped over a book about jackals and typing methodically on their laptop. She asks straight away when and where jackals came into the equation of saving Silas and LaFontaine has to explain that they really didn't but Kirsch seemed so concerned about them that they felt obliged to help him. It's at precisely that point that Danny feels bad for thinking that Kirsch was being stupid in English. It surprises everyone, Danny herself included, when Danny offers to take over the job of jackal research because her and Kirsch have never really been friends. The others chalk it up to Danny's slight hero complex and so ask no questions.

Danny was always taught as a child that 'if a job is worth doing then it is worth doing properly' so she makes no exception when it comes to the creation of the document. She takes a page per question LaF had handed her and makes sure to use a large font and lots of pictures because she knows Kirsch doesn't particularly like reading. When it's done she prints it off and staples it neatly in the corner.

She gives it to him the next morning and asks him why he's interested in an African canine all of a sudden and why he seems to believe they're so urgent when there are much more prominent issues. He tells her about his dream, how scary it was and how he didn't think he'd be able to fight one. Leaving out the fact that he'd been screaming for her help because there was no way she'd ever let him live it down. She told him if by some alchemy club related disaster there were ever jackals at Silas that he could come to her and she'd fight them off. 

* * *

 

It was months later when he accidentally volunteered himself to be the deer in the Adonis hunt, something that turned out to be way scarier than being chased by jackals, and all he could think was that he had to get them to stop. So he ran to where he knew Danny would be because Danny was smart and brave and a leader and the Summer Society trusted her. At this point in time he didn't even have to question if Danny would help because they were sort of friends and she believed in doing the right thing and y'know not murdering innocent people. He wasn't even slightly surprised when she stopped Mel or even really when she refused his offer of a hug. 

He'd made it up to her later though with a nice cold beer and a pizza which she was greatful for. They spent the night talking like they'd been friends all their lives. They spoke about Laura and how Danny still had feelings for her deep down inside her; about how Kirsch misses Will even though he knew he wasn't exactly the best person; about how they wished things could be simpler because they could fight monsters and demons and ancient vampires but not the recent issues of the school becoming inhabitable. 

* * *

When Perry told Kirsch she could save Danny he knew he had to help, she'd had his back whenever he'd had a problem. So he put his life on the line like she had done on more than one occasion for him. He was going to rescue his friend, no his best friend so he soldiered on.

 


End file.
